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Shukaku
, more commonly known as the , is a tailed beast that was sealed within Gaara of Sunagakure. It has been captured by Deidara, then extracted and sealed by Akatsuki. Background Shukaku first came into being in the waning days of the Sage of the Six Paths' life; to prevent the Ten-Tails' resurgence, the Sage split up its chakra and used his ability to create nine separate, monstrous constructs of living chakra, which would become known as the tailed beasts.Naruto chapter 467, pages 15-16''Naruto'' chapter 510, pages 11-12 It was revealed that some time after being created, the Sage of the Six Paths sat down with all the young tailed beasts and told them that they would always be together even when separated and that one day they would become one entity again with different names as well as forms than they did then when the time came for them to understand what true power was.Naruto chapter 572, pages 12-13 Citizens of Sunagakure came to believe that Shukaku was a of a corrupted Suna priest, and was originally sealed inside a tea kettle.Naruto chapter 97, page 8 Shukaku had two jinchūriki in the past,Naruto chapter 261, page 5 one of which inspired the Third Kazekage to create the Iron Sand technique.Naruto chapter 268, page 10 Shukaku was eventually removed from their bodies, resulting in their deaths.Naruto chapter 261, page 8 When Karura became pregnant with Gaara, her husband, the Fourth Kazekage, ordered Chiyo to seal Shukaku into Gaara during his birth. Before Karura died from a premature childbirth, she passionately told her son that she would protect him and her love seeped into the sand. However, Gaara couldn't properly control Shukaku's powers, killing or injuring several of Suna's shinobi and citizens. Deemed a failure, the Fourth Kazekage chose to test his son, ordering Yashamaru to assassinate him and also tell him that his mother never loved him, and that she was used as a human sacrifice for the sealing process. Gaara failed the test, fully releasing the rampaging Shukaku, to which the Fourth eventually used his Gold Dust to subdue the beast. Personality Shukaku is cunning, but also incoherent, giving it the demeanour of a madman, which fits well with the typical depictions of tanuki in Japanese folklore. According to Gaara, because of its innate rage and bloodlust, Shukaku relishes the opportunity to kill anyone in sight, even more so during a full moon. Like all tailed beasts, Shukaku also has a strong desire to preserve its own life, and as such, will grant its jinchūriki the power to control sand as well as allow them to transform into it in a state of need and bloodlust. Gyūki mentioned that Shukaku hates Kurama for its beliefs that the tailed beasts' strength is measured by the number of tails and, as such, views Shukaku as the weakest.Naruto chapter 567, page 10 Appearance Shukaku is a sand-coloured tanuki, with black (dark blue in the anime) markings all over its face, body, and tail, and a jagged, concave mouth. The sclera of its eyes are black, containing yellow irides with pupils that each takes the shape of a black four-pointed star with four black dots around it. During the last remaining days of the Sage of the Six Paths, Shukaku in its youth looked the same as it does presently, only much smaller. Abilities Like all tailed beasts, Shukaku has an enormous supply of chakra. However, it does not have as much as Kurama. Shukaku has the power over wind, in which it uses to perform powerful attacks such as the Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet; the ability to manipulate sand, using it as an effective weapon; and can perform the Tailed Beast Ball.Naruto chapter 519 At fully-released form, Shukaku's body is completely made of sand; as such he can ignore most damage that would otherwise be detrimental, as shown when he had one of his arms chopped off by Gamabunta and was still able to keep on fighting. Whenever Shukaku is sealed into its jinchūriki, it has the ability to eat away its host's personality, and influence him or her with its bloodlust behaviour whenever he or she sleeps, which leads its host to develop insomnia.Naruto chapter 135, page 9 Activity inside Gaara As Shukaku's jinchūriki, Gaara has the ability to move and levitate sand at will. Shukaku was at first believed to be the source of the automatic Shield of Sand, however the Fourth Kazekage told Gaara that this was due to his mother's will being in the sand. When angry or in a state of bloodlust, Gaara can use the sand in his gourd to take on the form of a miniature Shukaku, or even create a giant copy of Shukaku's body. Part I Invasion of Konoha Arc During the Invasion of Konoha, Gaara transformed into his full Shukaku form during his fight with Naruto Uzumaki, who later summoned Gamabunta. When Gaara exposed himself on top of Shukaku's head and used the Feigning Sleep Technique, Shukaku took full control of its body and battled them. Shukaku's power was too much for Gamabunta to handle, resulting in both him and Naruto using the Combination Transformation to take the form of a giant fox (Kurama in the anime). Gamabunta used the form's claws and teeth to grab and restrain Shukaku, in order for Naruto to wake Gaara up with a punch, which suppressed Shukaku's power. Part II Kazekage Rescue Arc During Gaara's time as the Fifth Kazekage, Deidara and Sasori from the Akatsuki were assigned to capture Shukaku. After Deidara defeated Gaara in combat and took him to Akatsuki's lair in the Land of Rivers, Shukaku was forcefully extracted from Gaara, thus killing him. Gaara was resurrected through a combination of Chiyo's life-transferring technique and Naruto's chakra. Even though he is no longer the host of Shukaku, Gaara is still able to control sand. Influence is the Japanese name for the raccoon dog. The tanuki has been renowned for its mischievous nature and abilities to shape-shift and bring good fortune. Shukaku has ties to several tanuki archetypes. One is the Bunbuku Chagama tale, where a tanuki sealed inside a tea kettle is then placed inside its first host. In the series, Shukaku was reported to have been sealed within a tea kettle. Some tales state of a shrine priest being a tanuki in disguise, which ties into how, early in the series, Shukaku was reportedly a corrupted Suna priest. Trivia * Shukaku is the first tailed beast to have its name revealed in the series. * It is the only tailed beast not to be resealed into its former host during the Fourth Shinobi World War. This is due to the fact that its previous host is still alive, having been revived after being killed during the extraction of the beast. * It is the only tailed beast that has not shown the characteristic red version 1 chakra shroud and the version 2 form. Instead, its host has been known to partially transform into the beast or assume a miniature shukaku form, somewhat resembling the version 2 stage. Quotes * (To Naruto and Gamabunta while laughing) "I'm finally out!! And here's someone that I want to kill right now!!"Naruto chapter 135, page 10 References he:הדביבון בעל הזנב האחד